Longer Sentence for Reptile Smuggler

After being caught attempting to pass a cache of snakes and a turtle through Kuala Lumpur International Airport into Indonesia, notorious wildlife smuggler Anson Wong of Malaysia initially received a lenient six-month jail sentence (as reported in the Fall 2010 AWI Quarterly). We are pleased to report that, after an appeal by the attorney general, High Court Judge Datuk Wira Mohtarudin Baki has extended Wong’s sentence to five years. In passing sentence, the judge said that human beings "should be considerate to animals." His prime motivation in handing down the harsher sentence, however, was the risk to humans from the two venomous rhinoceros vipers among the snakes in Wong’s possession. "It is apparent that the accused is greedy and only thought of himself. He did not care about other people" the judge added.